Sweepstakes Casinos in Vermont (2026)

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Vermont?

Yes. Vermont has no law aimed at sweepstakes casinos, no regulator has moved against them, and the state’s own statute book expressly allows contests and sweepstakes that cost nothing to enter. Every major Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins brand accepts Vermont players.

Vermont’s gambling offences live in Title 13, chapter 51 of the Vermont Statutes. Rather than one master definition, the chapter bans lotteries (section 2101), keeping or playing in a gaming house (section 2133) and gambling machines (section 2135), all of which turn on the classic trio of consideration, chance and prize. Section 2143b, titled "Contests and sweepstakes", then carves out the model directly: a person may organise or take part in a contest, game of chance or sweepstakes as long as entrants are not required to pay money or contribute anything of value, and the cost of mailing an entry does not count as consideration. That is the free-entry principle sweepstakes casinos are built on. Provided a site really does let players obtain Sweeps Coins for free, through mail-in requests, daily log-in bonuses and social promotions, it sits comfortably inside section 2143b.

No bill filed in the 2025-2026 biennium mentions sweepstakes casinos, and the Department of Liquor and Lottery, which regulates the state’s legal gambling, has issued no cease-and-desist letters. We are not lawyers, and operator terms can change, so check the Vermont section of any site before you play.

Recent developments

• June 2023: Governor Phil Scott signs H.127 (Act 63), legalising mobile sports wagering under the Department of Liquor and Lottery and moving fantasy sports oversight to the same department.
• January 11, 2024: DraftKings and FanDuel go live; Fanatics follows shortly afterwards. Bettors must be 21.
• 2025: New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Montana pass sweepstakes bans; Vermont files nothing.
• January 27, 2026: Sen. Christopher Mattos introduces S.318, "An act relating to casino gaming", to explore land-based casinos. It is referred to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs and never gets a hearing.
• Late February 2026: Rep. Thomas Stevens and a bipartisan group introduce H.913 to outlaw sports-event prediction-market contracts and add a 50-cent fee to every sportsbook wager. Referred to House Government Operations and Military Affairs, it does not advance.
• 2026 session: no sweepstakes, iGaming or social-casino bill is introduced. Vermont remains one of the quietest states in the country on the issue.

How Vermont law treats sweepstakes and gambling

• Penalties are modest by national standards. Playing in a gaming house carries a fine of up to $200 or up to 60 days in jail; simply winning or losing money by gambling (section 2141) is a fine of $10 to $200. Running unauthorised nonprofit games of chance escalates to fines of up to $100,000 and three years for repeat offences.
• Players are not the target. Vermont has never charged anyone for using an online sweepstakes casino, and section 2143b protects participants as well as organisers of free-entry games.
• Regulators: the Department of Liquor and Lottery, through the Board of Liquor and Lottery, oversees the Vermont Lottery, sports wagering and fantasy sports under 31 V.S.A. chapter 25. Charitable gaming by nonprofits (bingo, raffles, break-open tickets) is governed by section 2143. Consumer complaints about any online operator go to the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program.
• No sweepstakes-specific regulator: nobody in Montpelier licenses or audits sweepstakes casinos, so player protections depend on the operator.

What Vermont players should check

• Age: 18 is the floor, matching the Vermont Lottery; several brands set 21+. Sports betting is 21.
• Location: geolocation is enforced. Vermont borders New York, where dual-currency sites have been banned since December 2025, so expect strict checks near the border and never use a VPN.
• Free entry: a compliant site must offer a genuinely free way to get Sweeps Coins. If it does not, it is outside section 2143b.
• Redemption rules: minimum redemption amounts and identity verification before the first payout are standard.
• Taxes: prize redemptions are taxable income federally and in Vermont.

Other legal ways to play in Vermont

Vermont has no commercial or tribal casinos and no racetrack; S.318 in 2026 was the latest casino idea to stall. Legal options are the Vermont Lottery (approved by referendum in 1976, with draw games, instant tickets and the Tri-State Megabucks game shared with New Hampshire and Maine), mobile sports wagering with DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics since January 2024, regulated fantasy sports contests for players 18 and over, and charitable bingo, raffles and break-open tickets run by nonprofits. There is no legal online casino and no active proposal to create one.

Staying up to date

We watch the Vermont General Assembly for any bill touching sweepstakes, social casinos or online gambling, and we check every operator’s Vermont policy. This page and the casino list are updated as soon as anything changes, and the review date in the header shows when we last looked.